KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 (Bernama) -- Cuba which depends heavily on importsto meet its domestic needs for fats and oils, has imported only threeshipments of palm oil from Malaysia since 1991.

The main products (namely refined, bleached and deodorised or "RBD" palmoil and RBD palm olein) were imported in 1991, 1998 and 2001 amounting3,996 tonnes, 10,653 tonnes and 237 tonnes respectively, said deputyPrimary Industries Minister Datuk Anifah Aman.

Anifah who headed an economic and technical mission to promote palm oil inCuba, Colombia and Brazil, was speaking at a seminar on "Palm OilOpportunities and Outlook" in Havana (Cuba) recently.

The text of his speech was released here Monday.

In his address, Anifah said Cuba consumed 108,000 tonnes of oils and fatsin 2000 but about 93 percent of the total tonnage was imported.

Imports of Malaysian palm oil in 1998 and 2001, he added, were made underthe Palm Oil Credit and Payments Arrangement (POCPA) scheme.

-- BERNAMA